Strange Rodent — Roleplayer Guild

Welcome to Crumbling Kingdoms, my friend! Here, you will play a character with goals, obligations, and power, all vying to complete your goals through various challenges. NPCs, the world, and even other players will stand in your way, and it's your job to play your hand better than everyone else, and laugh at their corpses when you get what you want. 

This RP is set in a post ancient world, similar in nature to how I imagine it must've been after the fall of any of the great empires of history. New Kingdoms rise and fall in the place of older, more advanced ones. People make it their business to study these walls that go up to 20 meters high, when they can hardly build walls three meters high themselves. Metallurgists ponder over why this strange, malformed shiny stuff is harder than their pretty and well formed shiny stuff. Nature is reclaiming the old world, but it's only a matter of time before the new people replicate this ancient technology.

As players, you'll be working towards your individual goals with the appropriate amount of zealous vigor in a semi sandbox world. Kingdoms rise and fall in the span of months, and only the most ruthless survive. As a GM, I'll let you do anything, so long as your character has the influence or ability. Can't say the other players will let you do things, though ;)
Rules:

1) The golden rule of this RP is don't be a dick OOC. Nobody finds that pleasant. Call me out on this one if I forget ;)
2) My word is final. This rule is in every RP, so it doesn't need much stress
3) On posting habits. Post at least once a week, and post short, but well written posts when you do. Free quantity, Advanced quality. Proper English is a must. The acceptable length is a few sentences to 2 paragraphs, and you can write up to 4 paragraphs if you're collabing. The less you write, the less others know ;)
4) Please don't emphasise on unimportant details
5) Communicate with people! If you're unsure about anything, ask! We're all pals here, with the same goal in mind.

Not a rule, but keep in mind that this RP has a goal of bringing irl people closer together. It'd be real cool if we all are pals by the end :)

World info

This will fill up when more becomes known to the players :) 
Have some basic info!

You will all start in the nation of Cobsterra. The current rulers are King Emmund and Queen Juli of the house Pennikis. Their line has ruled for 3 generations, and was preceded by House Tremmly. The nation itself is bordered to the north by an allegedly uncrossable sea, called Promise Sea; to the east by a river running to Promise Sea, called Murren's River; To the south by another nation named The Anma Coalition, with which relations are strained but maintained; and to the west by a ludicrously thick, uncharted forest named Loosebind. Nobody has gone into the depths and lived.

It's mostly feudal, with only small changes in operation. The succession laws are based off of blood, then marriage, then claim. The Heir is chosen from the appropriate group, then raised to rule. From age 14 they serve a 4 year "apprenticeship" under the title of Deputy, if they are betrothed, then the promised couple undergo the training together. While they're training they are placed between the Lower Council and the Upper Council in terms of power.

Petty King Grahm of House Tremmly formed the nation of Cobsterra before history was recorded. The legends say that Grahm was fighting a losing war against his rival, Hallkh, who ruled the neighboring nation of Cses. Hallkh had kidnapped and killed Grahm's brother, Cobb, to lower the army's resolve. Needless to say, this hit Grahm hard. It's said that in his loss, Grahm discovered a new Enigma, born of the very desperation and hatred in his gut. He named it Uoyv Daybak, which meant "For destroying evil rivals". With no hesitation, he unleashed his power on the Cses army, with results so horrifying that no human deserves to hear them. The rumor is that he left the army to rot there, as a warning.
   From then on, Grahm was a feared name, even among family. Grahm went on a conquest, forcing all in his path to bend the knee, or die at the horrible power of Uoyv Daybak. He named the resulting territory Cobsterra, after his dead brother. Grahm was brutally and publicly murdered several years later, as a gesture of goodwill from the rest of the Tremmly family to the people.
   House Tremmly had a long and peaceful realm from then, and were well loved. Their only problem was that each royal couple could only ever produce one child, for unknown reasons. The reign was taken by House Pennikis after 5 generations of peaceful reign since King Grahm.

Until Riva Pennikis claimed Cobsterra, the Pennikis name meant nothing but a small estate in the south. Riva Pennikis was betrothed to the only Tremmly heir, Toug. She underwent two of the four years of Deputyship with her Betrothed, but had plans in the works. At the beginning of the third year, the fruits of her plotting had come to bear. She was the first in line to the throne by right of marriage, and by "An unfortunate turn of luck", Tuog, now her husband, died of Dysentery. 
   Riva took back the Pennikis name in a public display of loyalty to her family, which she said was all she had now that her beloved Tuog had died. House Pennikis has reigned for 3 generations including Emmund and Juli, less successfully than House Tremmly, and that has led to some dissent.

Map made with https://inkarnate.com.

Within the kingdom of Cobsterra there are 3 duchies. Cses, Hyuon, and Tra. Each was a nation that was subdued by Grahm Tremmly in his conquest. They all still operate fairly independently, but owe troops, loyalty, and taxes to the Crown.

Cses is located in the northern marshlands. The capital is Cseskhell, and that's where Duke Yssi Tamad holds his power. There is currently no Duchess, as Yssi refuses to remarry. Cses produces many more fine goods than practical ones, such as silk and dye. That being said, some of the best charcoal in Cobsterra is produced here, so they can trade that with others fairly reliably. They tend to import stone and metals, as they can't produce much of that themselves.
   A notable place in Cses is Hallkh Hill, where it's said that Hallkh stood against Grahm for the last time.

Hyuon is located mostly in the southern Hills of Cobsterra, with some Murren shore presence. The capital is Hyuonkhell, and it's ruled by Duke Beldra and Duchess Fijja of House Taggl. They tend to have quite an active military, and have almost perfected the art of fighting in the Hills, which is only enhanced by the amount of Hillforts they have hidden there. They export exceptionally high quality arms & armour and stone. They tend to import wood and medicines, as the Hills aren't super rich in woodland.
   Hyuon borders the Anma Coalition, and so has quite an active and well trained military. They are equipped with some of the finest military grade gear. The standard armaments for an infantryman is a steel chainmail byrnie, a conical steel helmet, bronze vambraces, a round wooden shield, and a steel tipped spear. The tip of the spear can come off to serve as a utility knife.

Tra is located in the west, and in theory contains all of the Loosebind. As a result, Tra is legally bigger than every other part of Cobsterra combined. Practically, only a very small amount of the Loosebind is actually accessible. The capital is Trakhill, and it's ruled by Duchess Hamy and Duke Teuoy of House Welkk. Tra has a booming scholar community, mainly due to the study available in the forest. There have been rumors of bipedal creatures with smooth skin and hollow faces roaming the forest. The hunters here are also remarkably good. They export lumber, medicine, studies, and furs. They import specialised tools for making expeditions and tough fabrics.
    There is a small settlement built at the edge of the forset called Bind's Edge, which solely exists to supply those residing in the forest and those journeying into the forest. Duchess Hamy funds it out of her own pocket in an attempt to expand her own lands into the forest. So far the project has been somewhat successful. They can get about 20 kilometers into the forest before it becomes too thick to journey into. In some parts, it even seems that there is a wall of trees.

Here, I endeavour to explain how the Cobbsterrans pronounce certain letters.

a = AH. This is almost always emphasised in words.
i = ih, as in "inbred". 
y = ii, as in "Evil"
o = hard o, as in "Tom". 
e = eh, as in "End"
uo = wO. The O is short and strong, like how you would say "Opera"
kh = a raspy back of the throat k sound. Like TV static at the back of your throat.
Cs = an s sound that starts louder than it finishes. The rest of the word should be pronounced at the same lowered volume.

Most powerful at the top, least powerful at the bottom.
Monarch: King and Queen. They both have equal power.
Upper Council/Regent: The close group of advisors. Each member represents a department of the Lower Council, and is elected by the appropriate Department, or chosen by the Monarchs. They work closely with the Monarchs to do what's 'best'. A regent is appointed to the council if the current Monarch is still a Deputy or a minor. Regents have no more power than any other council members, but can break an equal division.
Deputy/Deputies: The Heir that is being trained for ruling by the Councils and Monarchs. Titles may be inherited through marriage at this level if very specific conditions are met.
Lower Council: This Council is formed solely from those who apply for the position and are accepted by those in higher ranks. They're formed by 7 Departments: Dept of Justice, Dept of Stewards, Dept of Diplomacy, Dept of War, Dept of Secrets, Dept of The People, and Dept of The Sciences. They all do about what they sound like they do. Dept of Justice deals with law enforcement and the Judicial System, Stewards deal with cash and resources, Diplomacy publicly deals with other nations, Dept of War is inactive unless it's wartime or war is on the horizon, Dept of Secrets' operations are largely kept secret but are known to involve investigation, Dept of The People is formed by those with a low social standing and have little to no power, and the Dept of Sciences is always in a bad spot because they tend to focus less on politics and more on study. This rank is the highest rank that a player can start in.
Nobility: The last of the ranks that are allowed a vote. Anyone in the Nobility may vote on certain decisions that are put through to vote. To be in this class, you must own land and owe fealty to the Monarchs.
Courtiers: Usually little more than upjumped peasants, courtiers only have power because they work close to the ruling class. They're the servants, lesser nobility, and the like. A cunning courtier may posses a lot of Soft Power, due to hearing gossip and being fairly unregulated apart from doing their jobs.
Commoners: Everyone else. Somewhat ironically, they posses the most collective power of any class, but most of them are too unambitious to realise it.

From most powerful to least powerful, here is a list of Noble's positions.Duke: To be a Duke, you must own a Duchy. Duchies are groups of adjacent Counties, usually three or more. Dukes operate their Duchies like small kingdoms, and only the Monarchs, Deputies, and Upper Council can directly tell them what to do. The Lower Council has power over them, but enough that a Duke may resist. You can't start as a Duke or Duchess.
Count: A count operates out of a County: a piece of land with at least one city, produces goods, and provides their governor (A King or Duke) with taxes and levies. If you want to start as a Count, you probably should describe your County and what it produces. The Counties have been left unmade so you guys can have some free reign here
Burgher/Baron/Head Scholar: These ranks all have the same level of political power. A Burgher governs a city, a Baron governs a Military settlement such as a fort, and a Head Scholar governs a place of study such as a University. Same as above, if you start as any of these, you should develop your holding.
Earl: An Earl is anyone who owns a small piece of land, such as a farm or manor, called an Estate. They have little to no power. The scope of this title is fairly limited, so if you start as an Earl you can just mention it a few times. Still, the more development, the better.

Very little is known of Magic. It's one of the known unknowns of the world. Everyone has some capacity to do it, but few have the mental fortitude to follow through on that. Of them, even fewer are able to extend their prowess beyond a few spells. 

Nobody knows why, but use of Magic seems tied in some way to study and understanding of what Scholars call The Enigmas. Nobody knows where or what they are, just that they exist and they know one when they've found it. Effects of these Enigmas are always different. Some lead to the manipulation of certain things, others lead to otherworldly waking dreams, and most have just led to insanity.

Basically nothing is known about The Old World. All that was left behind were ruins, and skeletons ranging from towering ribcages over 100 meters high, to tiny little claws no larger than a toe. The people know they were more advanced, but don't know why just yet. What they do know, is that when it fell, it fell hard, and now there's hardly anything left.

Ask me any questions! Most things would be in world common knowledge, so I'll be happy to answer questions :)

Character Sheet:

Basic info

Name:
Nicknames/Aliases:
Appearance: No images please! Flex your creative writing muscles. Self drawn pics are acceptable :)
Age:
Sex:

Skill info

Skills: Choose at least 3 things that your character is trained in or good at. Rate each skill 1 through 3 stars, you have 8 stars to assign. The more stars, the better. Try and give a general explanation of each skill
Magic Skills: Consult with me in a PM before filling this out
Knowledges: Anything your character is particularly knowledgeable about. You have 4 stars to spend here in the same way as skills
Driving info

Goals: This is the primary drive for your character, and the section that should be the most developed (Not necessarily the longest). Your sheet will be refused if you don't have a driving goal.
Belief/Motto: One to two sentences describing how your character acts and thinks. An example might be "The world is cruel, to survive you have to be more so.".
Drive: One word only. This is what everything ties back to. "Family, Power, Knowledge" are all acceptable drives.

Power info

Allegiance Owed: Maybe your lord, maybe a close family member. Who your character is legally bound in service to. N/A can be chosen, but usually "House (xyz)" should be chosen.
Allegiance Received: See above, but reverse. Everyone that legally owes you service.

Debts Owed:
Debts Received:

Past Commendable Deeds: Saving someone's life, acts of charity, etc.
Past Condemnable Deeds: Opposite of above.

Secrets: Everybody has them ;)

Titles: Your official titles, appropriate to what amount of power you hold. 

Marriage Ties: What house yours is tied to via marriage. List the appropriate characters for this, and their station

We have discord! 

discord.gg/y76W7Ab
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